


True Love?

by Swanqsposts



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Endgame Evil Queen | Regina Mills/Emma Swan, F/F, First Kiss, Fluff, Happy Ending, Romance, Talking, True Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-27
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:40:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27212071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Swanqsposts/pseuds/Swanqsposts
Summary: Regina wants to move away from Storybrooke. Emma is in love with her. They have a talk.
Relationships: Evil Queen | Regina Mills/Emma Swan
Comments: 43
Kudos: 180





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to write a story where it’s Regina that feels trapped in Storybrooke instead of Emma. I feel like it’s often written the other way around but sometimes I can’t help but think that Regina could never be truly happy in Storybrooke, because after all, it’s still a part of her past and it came from a lot of pain. Or maybe I’m just delusional but whatever. This takes place after Robin left with Marian.
> 
> Also, huge thanks to my beta-reader, mdlay, for your wise words and comments :)

Emma was worried. Regina had told her that she wanted to speak to her, without Henry. She got along amazingly well with Regina these days and they had even developed a sort of friendship.

Lately, Emma felt like it could be even more than just a friendly relationship, but she didn’t want to push her luck so she settled for friends. Especially after the whole Robin Hood-debacle. Regina forgave her surprisingly quickly, yet Emma couldn’t help but feel guilty for somehow taking away Regina’s chance at True Love. A small part of her felt relieved but she would never admit that to anyone but herself. At least, with Robin out of the picture, she could convince herself that she still had a chance with Regina. And Regina deserved better anyway. Because really, who puts their supposed true love in the second place after a long-forgotten wife? 

She had a good relationship with the mother of her son now and, no matter her personal feelings for the woman, that was the most important thing of all. So Regina formally inviting her to have a conversation at Granny’s made her a little nervous. Normally Regina loved to cook for Emma at the mansion if she wanted to have a talk with her, so why was it different this time?

As soon as Emma entered the dinner, she saw Regina already sitting at one of the bar stools. She looked deep in thought and apparently didn’t hear Emma come in. Emma went up to her and just took the stool next to her. That made Regina look up and a small smile formed on her face, while she greeted Emma.

“Thank you for joining me, Emma; would you like a drink?”

“No, I’m good thanks. Is something wrong? Why couldn’t we talk at the mansion? Is everything okay with Henry?” Emma asked, unable to keep the worry out of her voice. 

“Henry’s fine, Emma. He’s at home, playing videogames with his friends. That’s why I wanted to meet here. I figured it would be calmer than a house full of hormonal teenagers.” Regina reassured her, but she still hadn’t told her what she wanted to talk about.

“Okay, so what’s wrong with you? What did you want to talk about that couldn’t wait until I picked up Henry at the end of the week?”

“I just received some news yesterday and I wanted to tell you before I made a final decision about it.”

“Regina, stop freaking me out! That sounds like you have a very serious illness that cannot be cured and you want to end your life or something equally as horrible. Please, tell me you’re not sick!” Emma was nearing a panic attack. She could feel her airways closing up.

“Emma, Emma! Calm down, will you? Nothing is happening to me! I’m not sick okay? I’m just a little worried about telling you; I don’t want to ruin this new friendship between us. But I promise you, I’m not sick and nothing bad is happening to me right now.” Regina told her. She really was worried about Emma’s reaction. She had come to care more about the woman than she was ready to admit and she didn’t want to endanger this tentative relationship they had going on. Most of all, she was scared to hurt the woman she had started to love. But she had no choice.

“Okay, well what is it then Regina?” Emma grew impatient and Regina was not getting to the point.

“I want to move out of Storybrooke.” she said so softly that Emma wasn’t sure she had understood.

“You want to move out of Storybrooke?” Emma repeated, dumbfounded. Whatever she had been expecting, it definitely wasn’t this.

“Yes, as soon as possible. I just wanted to tell you, before I started packing. I talked about it with Henry and he agrees that it’s my best chance at happiness. He would stay here with you if you were okay with it and he would visit me on weekends and during the holidays. He wanted to move away with me, but I can’t take him away from his family and most importantly from you. So he’s going to stay here in Storybrooke. The only condition was that he could keep living in the mansion, so I wanted to ask you if you would be okay to move into the house? I mean, you can’t keep living at your parents anyway, and this way you wouldn’t have to look for a house.” 

“You’re leaving me here alone with Henry?” She hated how heartbroken she sounded. Oh, this was so much worse than she had feared. Now the woman she loved wanted to move away from her. 

“Emma, I’m not leaving you and Henry. But I have to go looking for my own happy ending and I can’t do that here in Storybrooke. I want to start a new story.”

“But what better place to start looking than here in Storybrooke? Fairytales are created here. Maybe your true love is walking around here somewhere? Don’t you want a chance at true love?” Emma asked. She understood that Regina felt like her happy ending wasn’t in Storybrooke, but she wasn’t ready to let go of the woman.

“I don’t believe in true love for myself.” Regina answered, not looking at Emma, staring into her coffee cup.

“Why not? Everyone deserves a happy ending, that includes you.” Emma insisted. 

“I believe in happy endings, Emma. I simply don’t believe in True love. I believe in it for others, but not for myself. I don’t even want it in fact. I want someone to choose me for me, not because we are tied by some irreversible bond. I want to fall in love with someone because I want to, not because it’s meant to be. I want to be together with someone who will stay with me through all the hardships life throws at us and who will fight for us because I’m worth it, not because true love tells them to. I just want someone to fall in love with and who I would place before anyone else, except for Henry of course, because I chose so, not because it’s destined to be. And I think my happy ending isn’t in this town. Storybrooke is part of my past and I can’t let go of all my trauma’s here. If I want a shot at happiness and love, I have to move away. I found a job in New York. If you agree to take care of Henry during the week, I’m moving next month.”

“So you don’t want rainbow kisses and unicorn stickers?” Emma asked seriously, completely disregarding her talk about moving. She couldn’t believe that there was someone else in this town who was also freaked out by all that true love crap. 

Regina wanted to move in one month. So, she had one month to either get over her or to convince Regina to give her a chance. Her talk about love had given her a little bit of hope. She understood Regina, she didn’t want to be bound by fate either.

“No, I want a love that is true and deep, but I don’t want the magical kind. I want a real love story, not one that is decided for me from the start. Daniel was like that you know? He wasn’t my true love, not the magical kind anyway. But god, did I love him. And he loved me too, I’m sure of that and I know for a fact that our love was strong because we chose to hang on to something beautiful. He was my choice and I was his. When I think about it, what I had with Daniel was more beautiful than what I had with Robin. Nobody forced me to love Daniel, or told me it was fate or that it was meant to be. We chose to be happy together and to love each other, even though we knew it would be hard. It would have been so much easier to just step away from it all, but we were falling in love and we didn’t want to give that up. So we chose to give us a chance, despite my mother and later on, despite my arranged marriage with the king. And it was beautiful, it was so very worth it. If I could go back, I would choose to fall in love with him over and over again, even if I know how it’s going to end. And that’s the kind of love I want. I need a love that is chosen and freely given, not a magical and predestined one.” Regina had tears in her eyes reminiscing about her lost love, but Emma could also see the joy in her eyes when she thought about the good times of their story.

“Sounds to me like you’ve done a lot of thinking about love recently. Did something happen? You know, aside from me screwing up your life by bringing Marian back?” Emma asked, hoping to distract Regina from the moving away thing.

“You didn’t screw up my life Emma, Robin and I were never going to work out anyway, because I didn’t choose him. It’s Daniel's birthday today. I miss him so much you know? He always treated me like I was the love of his life. For him, I always came first. Whenever I achieved a particularly hard jump with my horse, he would be the first to hug me and tell me how proud he was. With him, I always felt loved and safe, it was truly a special feeling. When I was standing at his grave this morning, I realised that even if I do care for Robin, we could never have what Daniel and I had. We never chose to fight for eachother. Some fairy dust decided that for us and while that should comfort me and give me a sense of safety, it’s that very thing that lets me know that Robin and I would never work out. Because I felt trapped in my past and I vowed to myself to never feel like that again. Robin is fate and meant to be, but he’s not my choice. And I had a choice once and it was beautiful and I want it again. I want to be free in who I choose to love. Magical true love isn’t strong enough to keep me from that.”

And how could Emma ever refuse anything to Regina when she made a speech like that? At that moment she decided that she would let Regina go to New York and start again. She would take care of Henry and even if it would break her heart, she would let Regina go after her dreams. She deserved it and sometimes when you love someone, you have to let them go and that was exactly what she was going to do.

A month after that, Regina said goodbye to Emma and Henry. There were tears and promises to visit during the holidays, but even if it was a goodbye, Emma could see that Regina was looking forward to starting over again. Her eyes had a new light to them and it seemed to Emma that hope had finally returned for Regina. And god, she was beautiful with that sparkle in her eye. She would miss Regina deeply, But for Regina’s happiness, she would willingly make that sacrifice.

_ Six months later… _

Regina came home from a hard day at work and plopped down on the couch of her new apartment. The past few months had been some of the best of her life. She saw Henry every weekend and during the holidays and sometimes his blonde mother would come with him and they would spend the weekend together as a family. Regina treasured these weekends and she enjoyed the feeling of being free again after so long. She had no obligations, no expectations and no reputation to answer to and she had never felt so unburdened in her life. Moving to New York was one of the best decisions of her life. Sure, she missed Emma, but at least her mind was free. Just before she had left for New York, she had hoped that Emma would come with her, but she realized that she couldn’t ask that from her. Emma had just found her family back and she couldn’t move to New York to be with a friend even if Regina had wanted more. She hadn’t felt ready to date yet, but she was confident that she would be some time in the future. All in all, her life was pretty good in New York.

She had gone to pour herself a glass of wine, when she heard someone knock on her door. Weird, because she hadn’t invited any friends from work over and she knew nobody else in New York. It couldn’t be Henry, because he was away at summer camp for two months. She unlocked the door and when she saw who it was, she was speechless.

Emma was nervously waiting for Regina to open the door. She had packed all her stuff from Storybrooke and left to New York. She had tried staying in Storybrooke, but without Regina there, the place had lost its charm and she had a feeling that she would never be able to get over Regina. Snow had wanted her to give Hook a chance but he was more her side-kick than anything else. They had become best friends and he had convinced her that she couldn’t let Regina get away without telling her how she felt. Both Regina and Emma deserved that. 

But Emma had promised Regina that she would stay in Storybrooke with Henry so she hadn’t said anything. But now, 6 months later, Emma was ready. She had to at least tell Regina the truth and maybe they could have a shot at a happy ending together, here in New York. Henry missed his other mother too much anyway, so he wanted to move too. It was perfect really. And then Regina opened the door and the only thing Emma could do was go up and envelop her in a bone-crushing hug. 

Regina didn’t know how to react, but when she realised that Emma was in her arms, she responded to the hug and tightened her hold on Emma.

“Emma, what are you doing here?” She murmured, nuzzling her face in Emma’s neck. 

“I missed you Regina” Emma squeezed her a last time before taking a step back and looking her in the eyes. She took a deep breath.

“You’re probably wondering why I’m here. I had to tell you something. You see, when you left 6 months ago, I was happy for you, but at the same time I was devastated. You were, and still are, my best friend and I didn’t know how I could ever live without you. I still haven’t found the answer. I don’t know how to be happy in a town where I imagine seeing you at every corner and in every shop, but at the same time knowing that you’re not actually there. I tried forgetting you, because I had to let you have a shot at a happy ending and I don’t want to stand in the way of that ever again. I felt like I owed it to you to let you go. But the pain didn’t lessen, it got sharper. My mom took over the town and every time she tells me about her work, I imagine you in your office and my heart breaks all over again. Every time Henry wants to eat at Granny’s, I expect you to be there, so we could have a family dinner but you’re not. Every time Henry comes down here to spend the weekend and I can’t come with him, I feel a pang in my heart because I miss you. And the thing is, I miss my best friend, but I also miss the woman I’m in love with. I guess, what I’m trying to say is, you are my choice Regina. I choose you. If you let me, I will prove to you that I can fight for you, that I will fight for you. I’ll prove to you that I want to be with you through everything life throws at us and that we can have everything. I could try to forget you and I could try to fall in love with someone else, but I don’t want to. I want you Regina, you are my choice and if I’m yours, we could live a happy life together, here in New York, far away from fairytales and fate and talks about meant-to-be’s. So, would you choose to give us a shot?” By the time she finished, Emma was out of breath and she was looking expectantly at Regina.

Regina had tears streaming down her face, and for a few seconds she just stared at Emma. But then she closed the gap between them and she kissed her hard. Emma’s eyes flew open in surprise, but she quickly melted in the kiss and let herself enjoy the feeling of finally kissing the woman she had been in love with for over a year. And the sense of peace they both felt, was all the answer they needed.


	2. Family matters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, we find Emma and Regina 8 months after the events of last chapter and Emma wants to take a new step in their relationship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a little continuation of the previous chapter. It wasn't really planned, but after a very sweet comment on the previous chapter, I felt motivated to write another part. I loved writing this and I hope you will love reading it! 
> 
> I want to dedicate this chapter to Kykyo_Chan, the reader who left a very sweet comment in the previous chapter. Thank you so much for commenting on my story! I love you!

It was a friday night and Regina knew she was supposed to organise a date for her and Emma that week, but she really couldn’t find the strength to do so after the week she just had. She was coming home from work and normally, she would take a detour to the grocery store so she could whip up something special for their weekly date night, but today, she just drove straight home. She felt a little guilty, but mentally, she was just exhausted and deep in her heart she knew Emma wouldn’t judge her. 

8 months had passed since Emma had come to New York and had declared her love for Regina and a lot had changed since then. Henry was in college now and he only came home once a month. Regina and Emma missed him terribly, but at the same time they were happy for him. He had been accepted into a writing program and he was living his dream. 

Regina and Emma now shared the apartment. Living together had been surprisingly easy for the two women, once they both started accepting each other's quirks. Emma, for example, would always wake early to go for a run, while Regina wanted to stay in bed as long as possible. Regina always wantd the apartment to be spotless, while Emma didn’t mind a little mess. They found a way to compromise on every little thing that annoyed them about each other. Emma would stay in bed with Regina 3 times in the week, and Regina would provide her the workout she needed, while Emma would tidy up the apartment if she came home before Regina.

They had been ridiculously happy for 8 months now and sometimes Regina wondered if they would ever come down from their love-induced high. Just thinking back to the previous months made a smile appear on her face. Emma continued to prove to her everyday that she was loved and cherished. It was often in the little things that she would notice that Emma was still as in love with her as that first day and she couldn’t be thankful enough for that. 

Regina herself tried to make Emma feel loved everyday too and when she counted the amount of times she saw Emma smile at her, she could admit to herself that she was pretty successful. God, what she wouldn’t do for that smile. And it was because of all that that she was worried about not having a date night for the first time in 8 months. Since Emma had moved in, Friday nights were their date nights and they had never missed one. It was their moment to start the weekend the right way and to celebrate the end of the week. Since they both had demanding jobs, they figured they could use a weekly date to relax and just be together. Emma was now a police officer and Regina had a job as a family lawyer. She loved it, but sometimes it was exhausting and this week had been harrowing for her. She had been fighting all week for a little girl to be taken away from her abusive father and into the custody of her grandmother, but the father’s lawyers had been real dirtbags and the case would take longer than she had hoped.

Fumbling with the key in the door, she finally opened it and she was greeted by a smiling Emma. Immediately, she was engulfed in a strong hug and after the day she had, she let herself melt in the embrace. 

“Hello, my love” Regina mumbled into Emma’s neck.

“Welcome home Gina, I missed you.” Emma answered and at the same time she tightened her hold on Regina. She knew her love had had a difficult week and when she felt Regina completely sink into her embrace, she knew today had been even worse. When she pulled back, she noticed that Regina didn’t have grocery bags with her. She guessed her girlfriend hadn’t had the time or courage to go to the store after the week she had.

“No date night tonight?” She asked as gently as possible. She didn’t want Regina to think she was disappointed. This actually played out perfectly for what she had planned to do tonight.

“I’m sorry, my dear. Would you mind terribly to just watch a movie tonight? If you don’t want to, I can still go to the store and…” Regina was interrupted by a kiss on her lips and she couldn’t help but smile into the kiss. She knew Emma wouldn't mind. Her sweet, sweet Emma never did.

“I really, really don’t mind. I wanted to do something else tonight anyway. I have planned an entire evening for us. But first, I’m going to draw you a bath, you look like you need one.” Emma said. She took Regina by the hand and led her to their bathroom.

They were quiet while Regina undressed herself and Emma let the water fill the tub. When Regina stepped into the water, Emma sat down on the edge of the tub so she could give her a shoulder massage and wash her hair, like she knew Regina loved. 

“Thank you, Emma, I really needed this.” 

“I know you’ve had a shit week and I guess today wasn’t much better, huh?”

“It was the worst day of all” Regina complained. “I don’t understand how those lawyers can look at that little girl and honestly argue that she would be better off with her father. Children should grow up in a safe environment and instead of doing everything they can to ensure that, they just want to place her with a despicable man. That grandmother loves her granddaughter deeply and I know she would be safer with her, but they don’t want to settle. They want to take the case to court. Can you imagine playing with a little girl’s future like that?”

“But you won’t let them, Gina, you’re going to save that little girl and give her the home she deserves. I know you, I know you can win this case.”

“I’ll fight tooth and nail for her Emma, but I don’t know if it will be enough. Sometimes I miss having my powers in cases like these. I would fireball that abominable man in the blink of an eye and I would make sure he could never have or hurt children ever again.” Regina was getting angry. She didn’t know why, but this case affected her more than others. Maybe it was because she saw a bit of Emma in the little girl. 

“Hey, sweetheart, look at me.” Emma said. When Regina turned to her and looked at her, she continued. “I have faith in you. I know you are going to save her. Just relax for now and you will have a clearer mind after the weekend. You won’t help her by worrying too much while you can’t change anything. You can only help her by being the badass lawyer I know you are when the time is right. Trust me, the judges will see your point. And if they have any brain cells at all, they will listen to you and act on it.” Emma finished her little speech by placing a tender kiss on Regina’s lips.

“You’re right.” Regina conceded.

“I know.” Emma grinned smugly. When she was done washing Regina’s hair, she helped her out of the tub and told her to put on something comfy, while she prepared everything in the living room for what she had planned.

Regina had put on a pair of Emma’s sweatpants and one of her sweaters. She knew it was cliché to wear her partner’s clothes, but there was something about being surrounded by Emma’s smell that made her feel comfortable and safe, so she decided it didn’t matter if she was cliché or not. Besides she came from Fairytale Land, so she was allowed to be cliché sometimes, she reasoned. Walking into the living room, she stood still, when she took in the room.

Emma had lit the room with candles all around, giving it a romantic glowing vibe. She had also brought their mattress from the guest room to the living room and it was full of cozy blankets. It looked like a room straight out of a romantic movie. In the middle of the makeshift bed, there was a book but Regina couldn’t really make out what it was. On the side, there were 2 wine glasses and 2 plates of Emma’s special dish, spaghetti with meatballs. 

While she stood there, taking it all in, she felt two arms wrap around her from behind and once again she sunk into the embrace. Even 8 months later, Emma’s hugs still made her feel as special as they had the first day. 

“It looks beautiful Emma,” Regina said. “What’s that book in the middle of the bed?”

“That’s for later, sweetheart. We should eat first.” Emma answered, guiding Regina to the makeshift mattress. She raised her wine glass and toasted.

“To us.”

“To us” Regina answered, clinking her glass against Emma’s.

They ate in relative silence, sometimes exchanging a few words about the food, but mostly just enjoying the end of their week. Regina couldn’t stop looking at the book wondering what it could be. Emma on the other hand seemed to grow more and more nervous. When they finished eating, they brought the dishes to the kitchen, before going back to their little love nest. 

“So, are you ready to take a look at the book?” Emma asked nervously.

“Why? Is it something bad?” Regina answered worriedly. She could feel Emma was nervous and it put her on edge too.

“No, no! Absolutely not! It’s just...well you’ll see.”

They settled on the mattress and Emma took the book in her lap and after taking a deep breath, she opened it. Regina gasped. She had forgotten about that book and she didn’t even remember taking it with her to New York when she moved out of Storybrooke. 

It was a photo album of Henry’s childhood, from his first days at home with her until the time he started pulling away from her, around his 9th birthday. She opened the album and she couldn’t help but smile at the first picture in the book. It was one of baby Henry, widely smiling up at her, his face a colorful mess of various foods. She remembered the day she had taken that picture like yesterday.

“I was wondering if we could exchange memories of Henry tonight. I have my memories of raising him, and you have yours. I always wanted to hear your side. I found this book in your desk and when I looked at it, I realised that I never asked you about your stories with Henry as a baby. So, would you tell me about them?” Emma asked shyly. Like she said, she had her own memories of raising Henry, even if they were fake, but she wanted to know what it had been like for Regina.

“In this picture, he had managed to throw his plate all over himself. I had turned my back for a few moments to fetch a napkin for him and suddenly I heard him giggling. I turned around and he had apparently taken his little plate and he had spilled it all over himself. He looked so happy and cute that I couldn’t help to take a picture of him. He couldn’t stop smiling and laughing even when I took the picture.” Regina reminisced. Despite the mess Henry had made that day, it was one of her happier memories with him.

They continued exchanging stories about Henry’s childhood, while going trough the book. When they came to what Regina thought would be the end, she was surprised. Emma had apparently added a few pictures of her own to the book. She tried but she couldn’t recognize the setting in which they had been taken.

“What are those?” She asked curiously.

“Well, when you gave me new memories, you made sure I never missed a single moment of Henry’s childhood. But I can’t give you the same gift. There will always be a year of Henry’s life that you missed and I would do everything to give you the memories of that year, but I can’t. But what I can do is tell you and show you how that year went, because I took a lot of pictures during that time. I realised Henry was growing up so fast and I wanted to have pictures of when he was still a little boy. And when I found this album, I decided I would add my own pictures to it.”

“Emma...that’s so sweet. Thank you.” Regina couldn’t hide her emotions while brushing through the added pages. She could see that Henry had lived a happy life during that one terrible year where they were separated. Surprisingly, it brought her a sense of relief to see that he had been happy. She had been a little worried that Emma and Henry would remember their past life in Storybrooke and that they would be miserable, but looking at the numerous selfies and spontaneous pictures, she realised that her fears had always been unfounded.

“Why did you want to show me this tonight?” Regina asked. It had been a wonderful surprise, but she couldn’t help but wonder what had prompted Emma to organise a whole evening just to look at baby pictures from Henry.

“The other day, I was walking through Central Park and the sun was shining and there were all these families and they were all so happy. And then suddenly I imagined myself going there on a sunday morning with you and a little child between us and I couldn’t help but feel an intense longing. I’m not ready to live in a childless home, Regina. I really, really want another child with you, one we could raise together from the start this time. That's what I wanted to talk about tonight.” Emma blushed. She knew from previous conversations that Regina always saw herself with more than one kid when she was young, but she didn’t really know if that was still the case. She hoped it was, because she really wanted another child with Regina.

“You want another child?” Regina asked. Whatever she had been expecting, this was definitely not it. She just figured Emma was feeling nostalgic seeing their son grow up, but Emma wanting another child was a complete surprise.

“Well...kinda? It surprised me too, you know? When I was younger, I never wanted kids, because I was afraid I would somehow fuck them up. But then I met you and Henry, and he’s such a good kid. And you’re such a good mother, despite every bad thing that happened to you and the love you were robbed of as a child, and you still gave Henry everything he deserved and more. And when I watch you with him or when I see these families at the park, I realise that I want to raise another child with you. I want to go through sleepless nights, temper tantrums, birthday parties and everything again with you. I want to feel that joy of being a mother again.” Emma tried to explain.

“So, you’re serious about this?” Regina just couldn’t believe it. She had always wanted more than one child, but living in Storybrooke, for the first 10 years of Henry’s life as a single mother, she had decided that maybe it wasn’t a good idea to adopt other children. Since moving to New York though, she had been reconsidering the question. And here was the love of her life asking her to have another child with her.

“Yes, very much so. I mean, only if you are too of course. If you don’t want a second child, that’s okay too, but yes I would really like to welcome another little one into our family.” Emma smiled. 

Regina leaned in and gently kissed Emma on the lips. “I would love nothing more than to have another child with you, Emma Swan.” She whispered against her lips. 

An blinding smile blossomed on Emma’s face and she threw herself at her girlfriend, flinging her arms around her and almost knocking over the empty wine glasses.

“Are you serious?” She beamed.

“Yes Emma, of course I’m serious. I wouldn’t joke about something like that.” Regina answered, smiling up at her love. “I’ve always wanted a big family. And now I finally have someone I love to share that with.” 

Emma kissed Regina again and this time, she put in all the passion and the love she felt for this amazing woman. Tomorrow and in the following weeks, they would talk about how they would bring another life into their little family, but for now, she was just going to show Regina how much she loved her. 

Regina happily gave in to the kiss, answering with all the love she herself felt for the gorgeous blonde woman. She was excited about their future together and she could already imagine a little girl just like Emma, running around their apartment. The thought alone was enough to send a flurry of giddy feelings coursing through her veins.

In the near future, Emma and Regina would welcome a second child, but tonight they were already celebrating their family of three turning into a family of four, even if they hadn’t taken any concrete steps yet. That night, in their living room, surrounded by candles, few other words were spoken, but the passion that flowed between them was more telling than any words could ever have been.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As this chapter proves, one comment can make a world of difference for a writer. So if you liked this, please leave a kudo or a comment; to a writer, nothing is more precious than feedback. Even if you hated it, I would very much like to hear it from you.
> 
> See you soon for a new story!


	3. Finally Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to welcome the newest addition to the Swan-Mills family!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this story started out as a one-shot, but thanks to your extremely kind comments, I added yet another chapter. I hope you will all enjoy this one, even if it is not as fluffy as what I usually write.
> 
> I would like to dedicate this chapter to Kayla Kelsoe, who posted a very sweet comment on the previous chapter. Thank you so much for your comment! After such a sweet comment, I couldn't not write another chapter ;)

When Regina and Emma ran through the hospital door on a cold night of early December, they were both out of breath and yet they had never felt more alive. 

Tonight, they would finally get to meet their new baby. An hour ago, their social worker called them to tell them that the biological mother of their child had given birth to their baby. After 7 long months of anxious waiting, they were ready to bring their newborn child home and emotions were running high for both of them.

A year ago, they had decided that they wanted another child together and after many discussions, they decided to go for adoption. They hadn’t specified which age they wanted their child to be, because to them, it didn’t matter. They were put on the adoption list and they didn’t have to wait long to get good news. A few months later, their social worker had called them to discuss a possible adoption. A young woman had gotten pregnant and she didn’t want the baby, but it had been too late to get an abortion, so she had put it up for adoption. Steve, their social worker, had set up a meeting between the mother and the couple to discuss the possibility of them adopting her baby.  


After that meeting, the adoption papers had been made up and all they had to do was wait for their little one to be born. Over the months, they had received sonograms and audio tapes of their baby’s heartbeat. For both Emma and Regina, it had been love at first sight. 

They had bought a bigger house together and left their apartment behind; that way both Henry and the baby would have their own rooms and the baby would have a yard to play in and more space growing up. Emma immediately started decorating the nursery and Regina bought as many baby clothes as she could. They didn’t want to know the gender of their baby yet, so they went for neutral colors in everything. They would find out soon enough after all. 

Now though, neither Emma or Regina were focused on the color of their nursery or anything else. Steve was waiting for them in the welcome hall of the hospital and as soon as he caught a glimpse of the women, he walked up to them.

“Hello ladies” he smiled, “ready to meet your baby?”

“Are they okay? Can we see him or her?” Regina asked

“Yes, Regina you can go see her. She’s in the nursery ward. Congratulations, you have yourselves a beautiful baby girl.” Steve couldn’t hide his grin.

“A girl? We have a baby girl?” Emma croaked. She hadn’t even seen her little one yet and the tears were already springing in her eyes.

“Yes, you do, Miss Swan. A beautiful, perfectly healthy little girl. She’s just waiting to meet her mothers for the first time.” Steve answered. “Come on, I’ll take you to her” He motioned and Emma and Regina followed him.

Once they were in front of the nursery, he showed them which baby was their daughter and he stepped away, giving them some privacy for their first meeting with their daughter. Both women gingerly moved towards the cot their infant daughter was sleeping in and they couldn't stop their tears when they saw her for the first time.  


“Emma…” Regina gasped, tears gathering in her eyes, “She’s so perfect. She’s beautiful.” Regina smiled down at the sleeping, wrinkly bundle of joy. She felt an overwhelming wave of love surround her and in that instant, she knew that she would love and protect their little girl with everything she had.

“She really is perfect” Emma chuckled disbelievingly. “I can’t believe it. We have a daughter, Regina” she smiled and she looked at Regina, her eyes sparkling with love and joy.

At that moment, the baby opened her eyes and looked at her mothers for the first time. Emma offered her pinky and she gasped when the infant took it without hesitating. “Welcome to the world little one.” She whispered softly.

Regina felt like her heart was about to burst with love when she saw how smitten Emma already was. She would have never believed it before, but watching the love of her life fall in love with her children was truly a magnificent sight and she didn’t think anything could ever top this.

“Hello baby girl, we’re your mommies. We’ve been waiting for a long time to finally meet you.” Regina said and the baby turned her head to the sound of her voice, without letting go of Emma’s finger.

While Emma stayed with their daughter, Regina went over to the administration desk to complete all the necessary documents so they could take their baby home. When she went back to the nursery department of the hospital, she felt a new wave of happiness overwhelm her. Emma had taken the baby out of her cot and she was softly swaying her. Emma seemed to be completely mesmerized by the little girl and Regina was completely mesmerized by the sight of Emma with their daughter.

She walked up to Emma and put an arm around her shoulders so they were both looking down at their little one. “We can go home now, my love. Maybe you should call your father to tell him that he’s a grandfather again, hm?”

Emma nodded and Regina took the bundle of joy from her arms. While Emma pulled out her phone, they walked back to the car and Regina installed the little girl in her car seat. Emma motioned to Regina that she would stay in the back with her, while Regina drove them home. It made Regina smile, because she could see that Emma didn’t want to separate herself from her daughter. 

“Hello dad. We’ve got some news.” Emma said when her father answered the phone.

“Emma! I’m so happy to hear your voice again! How are you?” David exclaimed. He hadn’t heard his daughter in a while now and he was always over the moon when she called. When Emma had moved to New York to live with Regina, he had been heartbroken, but he had seen how happy Emma was there, and for him that was all that mattered. 

Snow hadn’t reacted that well and that was also the reason why Emma called her father and not her mom. Mary-Margaret still had trouble accepting Regina as part of the family and when they had announced that they would be having another child, she had warned Emma to stay away from Regina, because she would be dangerous for the baby. She had apologized afterwards, but there was still some strain on the relationship between mother and daughter.

“I'm really great dad. Hey, listen, you might want to pack a bag and call mom and come to New York, because your second grandchild is coming home tonight.” Emma couldn’t keep the excitement out of her voice.

“What? They’re here? Congratulations Emma! I’m telling Snow and we’re coming immediately. We already packed our bags weeks ago.” He chuckled. “Is it a boy or a girl? What’s their name?”

“I’m not telling you yet dad; I want mom to be there too, you’ll see when you arrive in New York.” Emma answered.

“Okay, Princess, see you in a couple of hours”

“Okay, be safe on the road dad”

“I will,” David said and he disconnected the call.

The rest of the ride back home was spent in silence, since the baby had fallen asleep again and neither Regina or Emma wanted to disturb her in her sleep.

When they came home, they immediately called Henry, so he could meet his new sister. He too, fell in love at first sight with the adorable newborn and he promised his moms he would come home the following weekend so they could meet for real.

After that call, it was time for the first feeding, so Regina went to the kitchen to prepare a bottle of formula, while Emma went up to change the little girl’s diaper. When she came back down, Regina had the bottle ready and they fed their daughter together, basking in the love that surrounded them. 

Just as they finished feeding and burping her, the doorbell rang and Emma went to open the door. David was looking really excited, while Snow was looking more apprehensive, but Emma let them in and she hugged them both. She may not have the best relationship with her mother, but after meeting her daughter for the first time and feeling that overwhelming love, she hoped that Snow would put her misgivings about Regina aside when she saw her granddaughter for the first time.

“Come in, they’re both in the living room.” Emma stepped aside and let them in the house. They went to the living room, where Regina had stood up with the baby in her arms and she smiled at Snow and David.

“Snow, David, we want you to meet Alexis June Swan-Mills, your granddaughter.” Regina smiled, looking down at her daughter and moving up to David. She passed Alexis to him, so he could properly meet his granddaughter.

“Alexis? What a beautiful name for a beautiful little girl.” He said gently, completely struck by the baby in his arms. He immediately felt an overpowering protectiveness well up and he knew that he would do everything in his power to make sure that his granddaughter would always be safe.

He wanted to pass the infant to Snow, but she stepped away and looked at the ground. Regina and Emma looked questioningly at her, but she avoided both their gazes.

“Snow? What’s wrong?” David asked her.

“I...I can’t hold her, I can’t.” She answered

“Why not? What’s wrong?” He repeated

“That child is not our granddaughter, Charming. She’s not Emma’s daughter and she should be with her biological mother. It’s wrong. This is all wrong” Snow blurted out. Everyone in the room was taken by surprise. Emma was the first to regain her wits.

“What the hell, Snow? That’s not funny, at all” She said, hoping her mother was just making a joke.

“But it’s true, Emma! You know what happened with Henry! He went to look for his birth mother, because every child needs their biological parents. And it’s going to be the same with Alexis. She’s going to grow up and realize you’re not her real parents and she’s going to look for her real mother. Alexis doesn’t deserve this, she should be living with her birth mother and growing up with her.” 

Everyone was dumbfounded at Snow’s outburst. Regina looked so furious that Emma was convinced Snow would have been dead by now if they had been in Storybrooke. This was not going like she had planned. She had hoped that Snow would finally accept them when she saw what their love had created, but apparently she couldn’t have been more wrong. Not wanting to wake up Alexis, she took a deep breath to calm herself.

“Snow, Henry came to look for me because he wanted to punish Regina, not because he needed me. He was mad because she hadn’t told him about the adoption and he was angry because of the curse. But when he realised how much Regina loved him, he went back to her, because biology or not, she had always been his real mother.

When I gave Henry up, it was with good reason. I wasn’t able to be his mother and if I had kept him, we would both be dead by now. Not every child should be with their biological parents, that’s just bullshit. Alexis’ birth mother gave her up, because she knew we would be better parents for her than she could ever be. She doesn’t want Alexis, mom. We do, very much so. We will love her, we will raise her, we will support her through everything and that makes us her mothers. Because that is what parents do. DNA doesn’t make a family, love does.

And God, there is going to be so much love in this house, I can assure you that. There already is and there has been for the past two years, but you have been too blind to see it. You can’t see that Regina and I have been a family since long before Alexis, because you don’t want to accept that Regina loves me and that I love her.

And I’m sorry Snow, I’m truly sorry that you can't see that. Because our family is finally complete and I would have liked sharing it with my mom, but I will never let my daughter be surrounded by people who think she doesn’t belong with us. So, if you really think that Alexis should go back to her biological mother, then I think you should go back to Storybrooke and not come back until you can accept her as a part of my family. 

And now that I think of it, that also includes Regina. She’s not just my girlfriend or co-parent of Henry anymore. She’s the mother of my daughter and she’s the most important part of my family. If you can’t accept that, just get out of this house, because I won’t have you disrespecting anyone in my family ever again.” 

Emma blew out a breath. She had tears in her eyes, but she also felt a weight lift off her shoulders. It felt good to finally stand up for what she believed in. 

Once upon a time, she had been an orphan, who just wanted to find her parents, but now she had found her real family and they had given her the strength to fight for what was right. She wasn’t an orphan anymore; she was a mother, a partner, a friend and she would do everything to protect the ones she loved, even if it was against her own mother.

Snow looked at her daughter for a while, before she straightened, a resigned look on her face and without even looking at her granddaughter once, she turned and got out of the house.

Regina went to take Alexis from David’s arms, so he could walk after his wife if he wanted. Regina desperately hoped he wouldn’t because Emma would be crushed if her parents abandoned her again. 

“Dad, do you agree with her? ‘Cause if you do, you know your way out.” Emma asked, tears in her eyes. She never thought her mother would actually walk away from her a second time, but apparently she was wrong. It hurt more than she wanted to admit.

“No, Emma. I don’t know what’s gotten into her. On the way over here, she didn’t say anything like that. But you have to understand how hard this is for her.” David answered.

“Hard? What can possibly be hard about this?” Emma was getting angry.

“Emma, you moved to New York for Regina. She lost you because of Regina again. And now you have a second child with the woman who took everything from her and you plan to raise her here, far from Storybrooke and from us. She never imagined that kind of life for you. She wanted you to be a princess with a prince and a castle and all that. It’s hard for her to see her dreams crushed like that.” 

“I moved to New York because I wanted to be happy. And mom didn’t lose me because of Regina. She lost me because she couldn’t accept I was in love with Regina, but that’s not Regina’s fault, that’s hers. And for your information, I was the one who wanted to raise Alexis here in New York, because I don’t want my children to grow up in a town where there is so much pressure to be a certain way.” Emma said. How could Snow think like that?

“I don’t blame you Emma. I didn’t want Neal to grow up in Storybrooke either, but Snow wouldn’t change her mind. You know how she is. Please Emma, believe me; I’m over the moon for you and Regina and I’m thrilled that you found your happiness with her and your family. And Alexis is a perfect little angel.” He finished, smiling at Regina and the little one in her arms.

At that moment, Alexis started to cry and before Regina could do anything, Emma had already picked her up and started pacing through the house with her and soothing her. Regina’s heart melted at the sight.

“You should go after your wife David. Try to convince her that I didn’t mean to take Emma away from you. I didn’t even know she was coming to New York before she showed up at my door. David, I love her very much and I hate to see her in pain and I know Snow hurt her, even if she will never admit it. I watched her fall in love with Alexis and it was amazing to witness, and I saw how much it hurt her when Snow said she wasn’t our daughter. I can’t allow Snow to hurt her even more David, so as long as she doesn’t accept Alexis as Emma’s daughter, she won’t be welcome here okay?” Regina told David.

“What about me? I want to see my granddaughter grow up. I want to be here for her and I want to be a good grandfather to her. I want to spoil her rotten, play with her and take her camping, like a real grandfather should do." He pleaded.

You're welcome here whenever you want, Charming. Emma will be thrilled to have her father by her side. And I’m sure Alexis will love her grandfather, just as much as Henry does.” Regina smiled.

“Okay, I’ll just leave you to it then. If there’s anything, call me day or night okay?” He said.

“I will David, thank you. Drive safe.”

“Bye Regina. Congratulations again; Alexis truly is a beautiful baby.”

When Regina closed the door behind him, she let out a deep breath. Well, that couldn’t have gone worse. She realized she didn’t hear any crying anymore so she went searching for her girls. When she arrived in the master bedroom, she stopped in her tracks.

Emma was softly rubbing Alexis’ back and humming some old nursery rhyme to her, while she was laying on Emma’s chest, already half asleep again. Regina smiled and cleared her throat. Emma looked up at her and put her finger on her lips.

“shhh, she’s almost asleep again.” Emma whispered. Regina took off her clothes, changed in her pajamas and settled herself next to Emma on the bed.

“Are you okay Emma?” she asked, unable to stop herself. 

“I'm fine Gina, don’t worry. It felt good to finally stand up for you two and I know David is still on our side. Maybe Snow will change her mind, maybe she won’t, but either way, I don’t care. I’m perfectly happy right here, right now. Look at us. Could you have imagined this for us two years ago?” 

“No, I couldn’t. I never thought I would ever be a mother again, much less find someone I loved enough to do it with. But here we are.”

“Here we are indeed” Emma chuckled. Suddenly tears welled up in her eyes.

“What’s wrong?” Regina asked worriedly.

“Look at her. She’s so tiny and perfect and she trusts me enough to fall asleep on me.” Emma answered, tears in her eyes. She closed her eyes to stop the tears and rested her head on Regina’s shoulder.

“You’re an amazing mother, Emma Swan and I’m so lucky to have you by my side.” Regina said.

“I can’t believe I get to be a mom again and that we’ll be together for all of it this time. I love you so much Regina.”

“ I love you too Emma.”

They shifted on the bed, until they were both lying down facing each other with Alexis in between them. Both of them had a hand on her belly to prevent her from rolling over in her sleep. They intertwined their fingers and fell asleep.

In a few hours, Alexis would probably wake them up because she needed a feeding, but for now both women were content to bask in the utter happiness that their little girl brought them. It was only early in December, but this was the best Christmas gift they could have asked for.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, what did you think? If you would like another chapter with baby Alexis, let me know in the comments :). If you have feedback/suggestions/remarks, let me know. Once again, I only continued this story because you asked for it in the comments, so if you want to read more, don't hesitate to let me know. I'll write as long as people keep reading this :)


	4. Mother's Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Mother's Day for the Swan-Mills family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back! How is everyone doing? So, I know it's not really the right time to write about Mother's Day, but I hate Christmas so I wrote about a holiday I love instead. I hope you'll like it. 
> 
> Thank you again for everyone who commented on the last chapter. You all brighten my weeks and give me motivation to continue writing; I never expected to get so much kindness from strangers online, but you've proven me that there are still kind people out there ;)

Regina is stirred from her sleep by the first rays sunshine seeping through the curtains of the bedroom. When she pries open her eyes, she is met with a lovestruck Emma looking down at her, with adoration in her eyes. It should surprise her that there still is so much love between them after all these years but since Alexis’ birth 4 years earlier, they both felt like they had gotten a second chance and they were determined to never take that for granted so their love and passion was still at an all-time high.

“Goodmorning, my love.” Regina croaks, looking up at her girlfriend. “Why are you up so early?”

“I wanted to be the first to wish you a happy Mother’s day.” Emma smiled, “So, Happy Mother’s day Gina.” She bends down to press her lips to Regina’s and they meet for a gentle kiss. It doesn’t last long however, because Emma pulls back to get something from her nightstand.

“Turn around.” She orders Regina. The brunette obliges, so she is now turned with her back to Emma.

As she clasps something around Regina’s neck, she says: “This, my love, is to celebrate the wonderful mother you are to our daughter and our son.” Regina looks down and what she sees takes her breath away.

It was a beautiful necklace of a swan, intertwined with a cygnet. The bigger Swan is obviously supposed to represent the mother of the pair and she’s wearing a little crown, that’s littered with very small diamonds.

“Thank you Em, it’s beautiful. I don’t know what to say honestly. Where did you find this?” She’s moved to tears with the kind gesture. Emma never stopped surprising her and making her feel loved.

“I had it made. I thought you deserved something special.” Emma tells her shyly.

“Well I love it. How about I make you breakfast in bed to thank you? And after that, we’ll have some dessert.” Regina adds with a wink, making it clear that she wasn’t thinking about food for the dessert part.

“I’d prefer it if we immediately skipped to dessert honestly.” Emma smirks, making a move to pull Regina on top of her. But at that moment, her stomach decides to betray her by making a loud rumbling noise.

“You know I’d always agree to that normally, but I think your stomach disagrees with me.” Regina chuckles and she makes her way downstairs, while Emma flops back down on the bed with a smile on her face. Regina's reaction to her gift was totally worth the money she had spent for the necklace.

When Regina comes back upstairs, she has a tray full of pancakes and two steaming mugs of coffee. They eat their breakfast in relative silence, just enjoying this moment of peace together, when suddenly they hear little footsteps running down the hall. 

They put the tray and their cups of coffee back on the nightstand, because they know they are about to be interrupted by a four year-old who doesn’t care about spilling pancakes or coffee on the bed. And they’re right, because seconds after that, the door to their bedroom opens and their very loud daughter comes tumbling in.

“Happy Mother’s Day mommies!” She loudly declares. She’s holding a big canvas and it’s obviously a painting for them. She scrambles on the bed and installs herself between her two moms. 

“Look, I maded you a picture!” She tells them, proudly showing them her painting. Normally, Regina would correct her, but she decided today was not the day. Alexis had painted a picture of them as a family. She had even included her brother, who lived in Boston now with his girlfriend.

In the picture, the little family was at the beach. Emma and Regina were holding hands while Alexis was playing with a ball together with Henry. It melted Regina’s heart that her daughter pictured this as her family. When she looked over at Emma, it was clear she wasn’t the only one who was feeling emotional at the gift.

It was just a picture really, but neither of them had a good experience with family and it meant the world to them that they were able to surround Alexis with all the love and warmth she deserved, unlike they both had experienced.

“Thank you, munchkin.” Emma thanked her daughter, squishing her in a tight hug, soon joined by Regina, who planted a sweet kiss on Alexis’ head. “I think we’ll frame it and we’ll hang it above our bed. That way, you’ll always be with us.” At that, Alexis beamed with pride.

“Why don’t you go prepare for breakfast, sweetheart?” Regina gently suggested. Since her daughter had the same appetite as her girlfriend, she didn’t need to be told twice and she happily skipped out of the room.

Emma pulled Regina in a hug and the brunette rested her head on Emma’s shoulder. “We’re really lucky with her, aren’t we?” Emma asked.  
“Yes, we are.” Regina smiled. “What do you say we take her to the park and the playground today to thank her for the present? She’ll love it and that way, we can spend some family time outside.”

“Yeah, that’s a great idea. I’m going to call my mom, while you make breakfast for our little princess okay?” Emma answers, giving Regina a cheek kiss. Regina nodded and got out of the room, to prepare breakfast for a second time that morning, while Emma took her phone and called her mother.

Regina hoped the call would go well. Things had been a bit tense between Emma and her mother the past few years, ever since Snow had bolted out when Alexis was born. Snow had never come to New York since then but she had talked over the phone with her daughter a few times. She still avoided the subject of Alexis and Regina completely though.

Upstairs, Emma let out a breath of relief when her mother actually answered the phone. She too, was hoping that she would be able to mend some bridges today with her mom. She wanted Snow to apologize of course, but more than anything she wanted Alexis to get to know her grandmother. The little girl was smitten with her grandfather, who came to visit her twice a month and she was sure Lexie would love Snow too. Alexis’ painting had made her realize that she wanted to have a better bond with Snow again, but for that to happen, her mother would have to accept Alexis and Regina alike.

“Hey mom, it’s me.” Emma said.

“Yes I gathered as much when I saw your number appear on the screen.” her mother chuckled. 

“Right. Yeah. Uhm, I was actually calling you to wish you a happy Mother’s day, so happy mother’s day, mom.” 

“Oh thank you, Emma, that’s so sweet. It’s the first time you called me for that.” Emma could hear her mother’s smile over the phone.

“Well yeah, Alexis got us a gift this morning and it made me think. Despite our differences and our fights, you’re still my mother.” Emma answered.  
She heard Snow take in a deep breath, as if she was about to say something very hard, “Maybe I can come with David next weekend, when he comes to visit you?”

“I don’t know mom. Are you going to actually accept Regina and Alexis? Lexie loves her grandfather to bits and I wouldn’t want to take away her pleasure because I have to fight with you when you inevitably look at my family with disgust.”

“I won’t, I promise Emma. I just miss you and I want to see you.” Snow pleaded.

“Okay, we’ll see you next weekend then. Don’t be surprised if Alexis is shy around you, she doesn’t do well with strangers.” Emma quipped at her mother. She couldn’t help it, she was still bitter about how Snow had reacted when they brought Alexis home for the first time. 

“Okay, don’t worry Emma, I’ll behave. See you next weekend.” Snow ended the call.

When Sunday came around, Emma was a mess. She hadn’t been this nervous since their social worker had called them to tell them that Alexis was born. Regina picked up on her nerves, but she tried to stay calm for the sake of her family’s sanity. Alexis on the other hand, was absolutely delighted that she would get to see her grandfather. It had been too long since the last time she’d seen him and she missed him.

Around ten, someone knocked on the door and Alexis ran to the door, before Emma or Regina had a chance to react. She moved up to open it, but she was still too small to reach the handle, so she had to wait until Emma came. Emma swung Lexi on her hip and opened the door.

“You’re not Grampa” Alexis pointed out the obvious. Her shoulders slumped in disappointment.

David was nowhere in sight and only Snow had showed up. Emma looked around to see if her dad was still hiding somewhere, but she didn’t notice anyone. Before Snow could say anything, she jumped in. “Where’s Dad?”

“David couldn’t come today. He has the flu and he’s sick in bed. He didn’t want to get everyone sick.” Snow answered, looking a bit nervous.

“Why didn’t you tell me he was not coming? He could have at least sent a text.” Emma told her none too gently.

“I asked him not to. I thought that if you knew he wasn’t coming, you wouldn’t want me coming up either and I really really wanted to see you.” Snow answered.

“Mama, who is that lady?” Alexis tried to whisper to her mom. Unfortunately she hadn’t mastered the art of it yet and it came out louder than intended.

“That’s your grandmother munchkin. Wanna say hi?” Emma nudged her daughter.

“Hello, Alexis, you’re a beautiful little girl.” Snow tried to approach her granddaughter, but the little girl just cowered into her mother’ shoulder, shielding her face away from Snow.

Suddenly a voice came from behind Emma, “Oh hello, Mary-Margaret, please come in. Where is David?” Regina greeted Snow. Alexis head shot up when she heard her other mother’s voice and she squirmed out of Emma’s hold. She ran to her brunette mother and made a motion to be picked up.

“Mommy, the lady is scary and Grampa is not coming mommy. He's sick” Tears started to fill her eyes.

Regina kissed her daughter’s forehead to reassure her. “You’ll see your grandfather next time sweetheart. Now, why don’t you go put on your shoes to go to the park, hm?” She asked. She knew nothing good would come from forcing her daughter to interact with Snow. When she was afraid of strangers, they just had to wait for her to warm up to them.

Alexis went up to her room to do as her mother asked, while Regina shot Snow an apologetic look. “I’m sorry for that Snow, she doesn’t do well with strangers. Give her a little time and let her come to you. She'll warm up to you over time.”

“So, you don’t tell her off for being rude? That’s really great parenting, Regina” Snow sneered.

“Well, she wouldn’t consider you a stranger if you didn’t behave like a spoiled brat, but now is not the time to talk about that. Emma and I promised her a day at the park and we never break our promises, so you’re free to come with us or not, it’s up to you.” Regina wasn’t going to fight with Snow, no matter how badly she wanted to.

“Regina’s right. You’re free to come to the park with us or not, but don’t speak to my girlfriend like that, understood?” Emma warned her mother.

“You’re right, I’m sorry. I’ll gladly go to the park with you.” Snow said.

After that first awkward conversation, Alexis was ready and the little family made its way to the playground closest to their home. There were more people than in Storybrooke, but it was still in a calm neighborhood of New York. 

When Alexis caught sight of the playground, she started jumping up and down excitedly. “Mama, mama, come push me!” She exclaimed, pointing at the swings.

Emma smiled indulgently, “Whatever my mini-queen desires, she shall get.” And before anyone has a chance to say something else, Alexis had already run off to one of the free swings.

“I swear she has the same puppy look you do. How can I ever say no to her when she just looks like a mini-version of you and I can’t even say no to you? “ Emma says, turning to Regina. “I’d better go push Ms.Bossy before she decides she can do it on her own.” Emma said, while Alexis was already swinging her legs to get the thing moving.

“Be careful not to get hit by her legs while you push her. I wouldn’t want that pretty face of yours to get hurt.” Regina answered, pecking Emma’s cheek.

“I’ll be careful. Promise.” She returned the kiss, before making her way to her daughter.

Regina blushes and goes to take a seat with Snow on one of the free benches. They look at the girls for a little while, smiling at the squeals of laughter coming from the pair. Alexis is clearly encouraging Emma to push her higher, while Emma makes sure she is safe and doesn’t fall off. When the swing next to Alexis gets free, she urges the blonde to do a swing battle with her. Whoever goes the highest, wins. Of course Emma can’t refuse her daughter anything, so she gets on the swing and they start competing against each other, Emma obviously letting Alexis win.

“Emma’s really good with her, isn’t she?” Snow interrupts Regina’s thoughts.

“Yes, she is. Since the moment we met Alexis, Emma has been smitten with her. And she’s such a good mother. Whenever Alexis is upset or sad, Emma drops everything she is doing to comfort her and make sure she is okay.” Regina answers with a soft smile.

“And they’re always getting into mischief together, it’s actually hilarious.” She chuckles. “There’s so much laughter in our house thanks to them. Last Sunday, I woke up and I heard laughter coming from the kitchen, so I went to see what was happening. There was pancake batter everywhere and I mean literally everywhere, from the walls to the ceiling and they were in a tickle war. They were both completely covered in the stuff, but I had never seen such happy faces on dirty people before. When they’re together, they’re like Spongebob and Patrick from that ridiculous cartoon they make me watch everyday.” She smiles, her heart bursting with love. 

They are interrupted when Alexis comes running towards them. “Mommyyyyyy! I winned the swing game! I went higher than mama! I was flying like a bird!” Alexis tells her brunette mother.

“Yes, I saw that my little princess. You were the prettiest bird of them all” Regina answers, hugging her daughter and tickling her when Alexis smiles at her mother’s compliment.

When Alexis is exhausted from playing, they all go home to put her down for a nap. Not long after that, Snow goes back home too. She hadn’t really bonded with Alexis yet since she had spent most of her time talking with Regina at the park and watching her daughter play with her granddaughter, but it was a start.

When Snow arrives in Storybrooke, she calls Emma to let her know she made it home safe and to thank her for the weekend.

“Thank you for inviting me Emma” She tells her daughter.

“You’re welcome.”

“You’re a good mother, Emma. Alexis is lucky to have you.”

“I couldn’t do it without Regina, you know.” Emma feels the need to point out to her mother that Regina is also important for Alexis. “Every time I have doubts or I waver, she’s there. She keeps me grounded when I need it and she reminds me to breathe when it all starts to be too much. She’s like a breath of fresh air when you’ve been underwater for too long.” 

“Is she listening right now?” Snow asks.

“No, why?”

“You really love her, don’t you?” Snow guesses, not answering the question.

“More than life itself. She’s the love of my life; getting to wake up next to her everyday makes every bad thing that happened to me worth it. And getting to raise children together has been the single greatest gift I’ve ever received.” Emma passionately answers.

“So you don’t regret moving to New York?” Snow sounds a little disappointed at that. She had hoped that her daughter would miss Storybrooke more.

“Absolutely not. I’m happy mom. I have a son who’s doing amazing in life, my daughter is the cutest little girl on earth and I get to see her grow up everyday with the most amazing woman by my side. I could never have had all that if I had stayed in Storybrooke. We’re free here. I miss you and Dad and Ruby and Killian, but moving here has been the best decision of my life.” Emma hopes her mother can hear how happy she is.

“Okay.” Snow says.

“Okay? That’s it?” Emma asks, surprised.

“I’ve seen how happy you were this weekend Emma, and I’m sorry for everything that happened between us. I don’t want to stand in the way of your happiness anymore and if I have to accept Regina and Alexis for that, then that’s only a small price to pay for your happiness.” Snow answers. It had taken her a very long time to see it, but in the end, her daughter’s happiness was the most important thing of all and nothing could change that.

“Thanks mom.” Emma smiles.

“So, when are you and Regina getting married?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, what now? I'm eagerly waiting for your ideas and suggestions ;)


	5. Mama, will you marry Mommy?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for the next step in Emma and Regina's relationship. And it's a big one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, I'm very sorry for taking so long to update this chapter. Life got shitty and exams are coming up for me, so I really didn't have enough motivation or time to write this like I wanted it. Since this is a pretty important chapter, I wanted it to be good and not take the easy way out. So, it took me a very long time to come up with something I was happy with, but here it is. I also want you to know that no matter how long I might take between updates, I would never leave a story unfinished.
> 
> Secondly, I want to wish you all a very happy New Year! I wish you all a year full of happiness and love. May all your wishes come true this year. Let's make 2021 a beautiful year filled with joy and of course, SwanQueen!

“Mommy, why don’t you have a Prince Charming like the mothers of my friends?” Alexis asked in an innocent voice. That morning, her friends had made fun of her because her mommies didn’t have a prince like their mommies did. When her mom came to pick her up, she couldn’t help but ask the question that had perturbed her all day.

Out of surprise at the question, Regina halted. She crouched down at eye level with her daughter and asked, “Why do you ask that, Sweetheart?”.

“Cause today in class we saw the Cinderella movie and the teacher said that every girl needed a prince. And she asked us if our mommies had a prince and everyone said yes, but I didn’t cause you and mama don’t have one. And then, during the break, my friends made fun of me.” Alexis pouted. She had been hurt when her friends had laughed at her, because her mommies were heroes to her; they didn’t need a stupid prince to defend themselves.

Regina’s heart broke for her little girl. She knew this moment would come someday, but she had hoped Emma would have been there to help her. “Oh honey, your friends should have never made fun of you. You’re right, mama and I don’t have a prince but we have something much better. What do you say we go get a hot chocolate and I’ll explain everything?”

“Hot chocolate? Really mommy?” Lexie smiled up at her with hopeful eyes.

“Yes, really, come on let’s go”. Regina took her daughter’s hand and they went to the coffee shop closest to their house. Regina sent a text to her girlfriend to warn her that she was taking their daughter for a hot chocolate and that they would be home a little later.

A few minutes later, they were comfortably seated together in their usual booth. Alexis had a steaming cup of hot cocoa in front of her, while Regina had a cup of coffee.

“So sweetheart, you want to know the story of our family?”

“Yes mommy” Alexis grinned excitedly.

“Okay well, like I told you, neither your mama nor I have a prince, but we have something much better, because mama is my Savior and I am mama’s queen. You see, a long time ago, your brother, Prince Henry, brought home The Savior. That's your mama. He thought she was his real mother and he was mad at his other mother, the Queen, because she had cast a very dark curse. That queen was me. At first, the queen and the savior were always fighting. The queen was afraid that the savior would break her curse and take Prince Henry away from her. And the savior was afraid that Prince Henry was not happy with the queen. But then, bad people came to the town and they kidnapped Henry to Neverland. So the queen and the savior had to work together to save their son from the evil people. 

When they brought the little prince home, the savior and the queen decided that they would stop fighting because the prince didn’t deserve that. He deserved to have two moms who loved him and cared for him without hating each other. So the savior and the queen became friends. And they fell in love, but they never told each other.

But the queen was not happy in Storybrooke and she decided to move here to search for her happy ending far away from all the magic. And the savior was sad, because her best friend was moving away and she couldn’t tell the queen she loved her, because she didn’t want to stand in the way of her happy ending. But the savior missed her queen very much and she decided that she couldn’t live without her. So, one day the savior came to New York and she never left. Since then, the queen and the savior have been living their happy ending with their little prince, who grew up, and a few years ago a little princess named Alexis came into their world and made them even happier. 

So, you see sweetheart, it’s true that we don’t have a prince like all of your friends, but we have so much more. Because our little family is a queen, a savior, a prince and a princess all in one.” Regina smiled at her daughter and she could see that Alexis wasn’t sad to be different from her classmates anymore. 

“So you love mama like the other mommies love their prince?” Alexis wondered.

“Yes, sweetheart exactly like that and maybe even more.” 

“So why aren’t you married then? All my friends say that when you love someone, you have to marry them.” 

Regina choked on her coffee and she almost spat out the beverage. In truth, she had been thinking about marriage quite often lately. Her first marriage had been nothing but a sham and for a long time that made her afraid of ever making that kind of commitment again. But Emma turned that idea around, just like she had turned every other aspect of her life upside down. She wanted to be able to call Emma her wife and she wanted to be Emma’s. She just didn’t think her daughter would be so direct about it.

“I’d like to marry your mama very much sweetheart but first I have to ask her, don’t I?” Regina decided to be honest with her little girl.

“Oooh, mommy can I help, pleaseee?” Alexis pleaded. And Regina could never say no to that cute little pout. So just like that, their little stop at a coffee shop to talk about their family turned into planning a whole proposal. 

_ Two weeks later… _

Regina woke up at exactly 6 o’clock. When she looked over to Emma, she saw that the blonde was still soundly asleep, just like she should be. Her nerves had been messing with her sleep all night, because today was the day. Today she would ask the love of her life to marry her. Trying to make as little noise as possible, she got out of bed and snuck out of their bedroom.

She made her way to her daughter’s bedroom, but before waking Alexis, she looked at her little girl for a little while. Her daughter’s hair was splayed out around her head and it reminded Regina of Emma. The resemblance between the two could be uncanny at times and if she didn’t know any better, Regina would have thought that Alexis was Emma’s biological daughter.

“Sweetheart, it’s time to wake up. We’re going to surprise mama today remember?” She softly shook her daughter awake. Alexis immediately opened her eyes and shot out of bed. It seemed like Regina wasn’t the only one who was excited for today. Together they went downstairs to make breakfast for the blonde.

2 hours later, Alexis and Regina had had breakfast and Emma’s breakfast was ready to be taken up. Alexis placed a little note on the tray and smiled at her mom. Before making her way back upstairs, Regina told Alexis to come up in 5 minutes. Once Regina was back in the bedroom, she nestled herself under the covers again and snuggled up behind her girlfriend.

5 minutes later, just like Regina had planned, there was a knock on their door. 

“Emma, my love, wake up. Alexis is knocking on the door.” Regina could barely hold it together because of the nerves coursing through her body.

Emma grumbled. She didn’t like being woken up early on the weekends. “Can’t you take care of her Gina please? Give me 10 minutes and I’ll join you.”

“Emma, I think she has a surprise for you.” That woke Emma up instantly. She sat up against the headboard. Seeing Regina’s mischievous smile, she couldn’t help but ask

“A surprise? For me? What for?” 

“Well, why don’t you ask her? Are you going to let her stand behind that door for a long time?” Regina laughed at the impatient nature of the blonde. 

“Lexi, you can come in, it’s alright, we’re ready for you.” Emma couldn’t help the excited hitch in her voice. Alexis opened the door carefully, still holding the breakfast tray. She went up to her blonde mom.

“I made you breakfast in bed mama! And mommy has to ask you something, but I can’t tell you because it’s a surprise!” Alexis rambled excitedly. She placed the tray on the blonde’s knees and waited with baited breath until her mom opened the little card that was laying just next to the pancakes. 

“Thank you munchkin, this looks delicious” Emma thanked her little girl. Alexis beamed in response. Then Emma opened the little card and gasped.

_ Mama, will you marry mommy? _

Emma raised an eyebrow out of surprise and turned to Regina, showing her the little card.

“Did you know about this?” The blonde asked, completely taken by surprise. Alexis chose that moment to get out of the room to give her mothers a little privacy, just like Regina had asked her when they had planned the proposal together. She stood next to the door though, so she could still hear everything.

“Actually I did.” Regina nervously smiled. She turned around to take a little box out of her nightstand. “I’ve been thinking about this for a very long time, but I kept postponing it because I was afraid of your reaction. But a few weeks ago, Alexis gave me the nudge I needed and we planned this together.”

The brunette took a deep breath and opened the little box to present it to the blonde. Inside was a beautifully decorated silver ring. On top of the ring, there was a small diamond and several smaller diamonds were encrusted in the ring on each side of the diamond. It was a refined and delicate piece of jewelry and perfectly matched Emma’s personality. Tears sprang into Emma’s eyes.

The brunette cleared her throat. “When I first met you, I thought I could never love someone romantically again. I was broken, still bitter about the death of my first love. For a long time, you were like a thorn in my side, but you were the first one to make me feel something again after 28 years of being trapped. I hated you, but I loved it at the same time.”

And then the curse broke and everything went crazy. I must admit, when you accused me of murdering Archie, it hurt me more than I imagined it would. I guess that I had already been falling in love with you then. Or I was just hurt because I thought that someone finally believed in me and my love for Henry enough to see that I was actually innocent for once. But no, honestly, I was probably already falling in love with you. And then we had to destroy that trigger and everything changed once again.

When your magic connected with mine while destroying it, I felt warm all over. It was like I had been cold during the entire curse and by saving us all, you also filled my body with a warmth I had never known. It felt familiar and comfortable and in that moment I knew you were special. And I owed it to myself to see what would happen between us. But then the whole world turned upside down again, because Henry was kidnapped. 

When we were in Neverland, it was the first time we actually took the time to get to know each other better and the more you told me about yourself, the more I fell in love with you, but also the guiltier I felt. And you saw right through me. You reassured me that your past wasn’t my fault. You didn’t need to, but you still did it anyway and I knew that I could never go back to hating you. With your courage, your kindness and your stubbornness to save Henry and bring him back to us, you won over my heart without even realising it.

But when we came back to Storybrooke, I got scared once again. The town felt so stifling to me and there was so much pressure on you, on me, on us that I couldn’t deal with it any longer, so I decided to move away. I still remember that conversation we had at Granny’s like it was yesterday. I broke my own heart by willingly moving away from you, but I had to. Because even with you by my side, I could never have been happy in Storybrooke.

A few months passed and I thought I was slowly getting over you. I was happier, but there was still a hole in my heart that I wasn’t ready to fill. And then one day, you were there. When I opened the door and you were standing right in front of me in your red leather jacket, all the feelings I thought were buried deep inside of me came rushing back to the surface. It was like I saw you for the first time and like nothing had changed at all at the same time. 

Over our years together as a couple I fell more and more in love with you. Everyday you made me the happiest woman on earth. Since our first kiss, I’ve always known that I would never love someone else the way that I love you. And when I saw you holding Alexis for the first time, I knew that I wanted to marry you. Marriage had always been a scary concept for me, but seeing you fall in love with our little angel made me realize that I could never be afraid of the love between us and all my fears just melted away. That’s actually one of your superpowers, you know? Everytime, I’m scared or worried, you just have to look at me or smile and I know that everything will be okay as long as I have you by my side.

You are everything to me, Emma Swan. You are the sun that keeps on shining even when it’s raining and I know in my heart that we belong together. You’re my best friend, my other half and the love of my life. I would love nothing more than to be yours for the rest of time. So, Emma Swan, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?” Regina took the ring out of the box, wiped the tears from her eyes and held it up for Emma, anxiously waiting for her reply.

Emma had tears streaming down her face and she couldn’t hide her smile. No one had ever made her as happy as Regina did everyday and it touched her beyond words that Regina wanted to get married to her, especially considering her past.

“Yes” she sobbed, “Yes, I would love to be your wife Regina.” A magnificent smile broke out on Regina’s face as she shot up to hug her fiancée. Regina slipped the ring on her finger and wiped the tears off Emma’s face before she kissed her deeply with all the passion and love she felt for the blonde. After a while, they broke apart, heavily panting from the kiss. 

Regina suddenly remembered that her daughter was probably still waiting next to the door and called out, “She said yes, Alexis! Your mommies are getting married!”

Alexis didn’t waste a second and ran into the room, happily squealing. She threw herself on the bed, almost knocking over the breakfast tray and hugged her blonde mother thightly. Then she went over to her other mother and hugged her too and when she was done, she nestled herself in between them. With all the excitement dying down, she yawned pretty quickly and Regina told her that they could all stay in bed a little longer and that she could still sleep a little if she wanted. While Emma finished her breakfast, Regina told Alexis about their story again. It had become her favorite and she wanted to hear it every night. Alexis was already drifting off after about 5 minutes and her mothers laid down on each side of her, looking at their little girl, hearts overflowing with love. The two women were slowly falling back asleep too.

“I love you, Regina” Emma whispered.

“And I love you, Emma. So very much.” Regina answered, before they both drifted off into a peaceful slumber, their intertwined hands resting on Alexis’ back. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments/reviews are always appreciated. Let me know what you thought! What will happen next? Maybe time for some angst? Or do we leave angst in 2020? I always take suggestions to heart, so it's up to you beautiful readers to decide what happens next ;)


	6. Ultimately United

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it! Finally! I'm sorry for everyone who has been waiting for this chapter, but writing this has been unexpectedly difficult. Enjoy the wedding! For the two readers asking me to not write angst: thank you so very much for your comments and I did respect your wishes ;)

“Welcome everyone. We are gathered here today to celebrate the wedding of Emma and Regina. I invite you all to share in the happiness and joy this union is bringing and....” the wedding officiant droned on about marriage, but neither Regina or Emma were paying attention.

Just moments before, they had seen eachother in their wedding attires for the first time and they were still drooling over one another. Regina couldn’t take her eyes off of her future wife. Emma was wearing an elegant, dark blue suit that suited her blond hair perfectly. Regina had been used to all sorts of elegant dresses and updo’s in her time in the Enchanted Forest, but she had never seen such a beautiful sight.

Emma was completely absorbed in Regina too. To her surprise, Regina had also chosen a suit. It was a crisp white one and the brunette wasn’t wearing anything underneath the white vest, which had Emma nearly drooling. 

When Regina had left Storybrooke, Emma hadn’t dared hope for a future with the former queen and here she was, ready to marry her. What once seemed impossible for her, was now happening. And it wasn’t a dream. She was really about to marry the love of her life.

When it was time for them to exchange their vows, Henry had to nudge Emma to get her out of her trance. For the first time since the ceremony had begun, their gazes crossed and it almost cut off Emma’s breath. How was she supposed to say her vows, when her almost-wife took her breath away like that? Still, she took a deep breath, cleared her throat and began.

“I don’t believe in true love for myself. That’s what you said to me when you moved away. At that time we were just friends, but I already knew that you were the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. So hearing you say something like that broke my heart into a million little pieces. In the months between your move and my decision to move, I spent hours convincing myself that you were wrong. That True Love was possible for you, and that maybe I just had to find a way to prove that wasn’t a bad thing. I wanted to show you that I was destined to be with you, that I was tied to you by fate because I loved you so much.

But you were right. I couldn’t prove it; fate didn’t tie us together like it did with my parents. You had moved away for good and I was still in Storybrooke; we just weren’t meant to be and I had to accept that, because there was no amount of magical True Love that could bring us back together. 

I still deeply believe that we were destined to be together, Regina. There is no way someone can love this hard without being some sort of soulmates. There is no way I could ever experience such happiness if we weren’t made for one another in some way. 

But this isn’t True Love like Storybrooke wants it to be. This is real and that makes it even better. We worked hard to make this happen. We didn’t have our happy ending handed over on a plate. And that makes it all the more magical for me. 

I know a lot of people think of marriage as the last step to their happy ending, but I also know that that won’t be the case for us. I know life still has a lot in store for us and I can’t wait to find out what exactly with you by my side. I can’t wait to find out if we”re going to adopt more kids, to find out how we’re going to handle Henry getting married and raising a family of his own, to continue raising Alexis into her own little person, but above all, I can’t wait to wake up next to you as your wife knowing it will be like that until the end of times.

I promise to love you everyday even when we’re fighting and I promise to never make you feel like you’re not cherished. I promise to be a safe place for you, but I also promise to continue being your own personal idiot and I vow to you, in front of everyone, that I’ll do everything in my power to make you smile every single day. Most importantly, I promise to work hard to keep our relationship real and true and to show you everyday that you’re my choice and that I’m willing to fight for you, everyday.” Emma finished with a smile to her soon-to-be-wife.

Regina couldn’t hold in a teary chuckle. Trust the blonde to make her cry on her wedding day, even if it were tears of happiness. When Emma saw that Regina couldn’t control her emotions, she broke the protocol and stepped up to wrap her wife in a hug. She whispered soothing words in her ears and held her until she calmed down a little bit.

When the brunette regained control of her emotions she let go of the hug and turned to the wedding officiant, who gave her a nod to signal that it was her turn to say her vows.

“Emma, when you came to Storybrooke all those years ago and you brought Henry back to me, it was the first time in years I felt some real emotions. And throughout the years, you never stopped doing that. Through all the adventures, the hardships and joys in life, you have always been real to me. You’ve always made me feel real emotions, but you’ve also always shown yourself to me, without walls, without hiding anything. Between us, it’s sometimes been hard against hard, but it’s always been honest.

I thought leaving Storybrooke was going to be my happy ending and for a while it was. But I wasn’t completely happy. Until you came back to me. It seems like you inherited that awful family trait from your parents but for once I’ll consider it a gift and not a curse. When you knocked on my door, I didn’t expect this. I didn’t expect that I would be standing here now in front of our family and our friends declaring my love for you. 

But here I am and the miserable person I once was would never believe how happy I’d become one day. I have a perfect son who’s growing up to be a fine young man. I have a sweet little daughter who I can’t wait to see grow up. And last but not least, I have the love of my life standing by my side to go through everything together and to grow old with. 

I know life isn’t always going to be easy and marriage isn’t a guarantee for a happy life, but I know that with you as my wife, life and its hardships will at least be a little easier. And I already know that me being your wife will be one of the greatest honors of my life. 

I never thought I would get married again, not after everything I’ve been through. But when I look at you and I think about marriage with you, I don’t think about being legally tied to a person. I think about waking up next to you every morning. I think about your little morning kisses. I think about how your face lights up whenever I wear one of your sweaters. I think about the way you are and always have been my safe place. 

I love you, Emma; I love our family and I love the person I am when I’m with you. I promise you to always keep working on us, on our relationship. I promise to never abandon you and to never make you feel like you’re alone, even when we’re fighting. I promise to always be your best friend, your lover and your partner. And finally, I vow to you that this is only the beginning of our story together and we’ll write many more chapters together.”

This time it was Regina who stepped up and wrapped Emma in a hug because the blonde had tears streaming down her beautiful face. After a while, the wedding officiant cleared his throat. “Well, after these emotional words, let’s move the ceremony along.”

Alexis stepped up the aisle and handed over the rings to her brunette mother first. 

“Regina Mills, do you take Emma Swan as your lawfully wedded wife in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad times until death do you part?”

“I do.” Regina answered, slipping the ring on Emma’s finger.

“And do you Emma Swan take Regina Mills as your lawfully wedded wife in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad times until death do you part?”

“I do.” Emma said with a big grin on her face, slipping the ring on Regina’s finger. Not wanting to let go of her hand, Emma just took Regina’s other hand too and held on tight. 

“By the powers vested in me by the state of New York, I now pronounce you wife and wife. You may kiss one another.” The officiant finished with a smile. 

Emma and Regina didn’t waste a second and closed the gap between them. Soon they were wrapped up in their own world, both melting in the kiss and the love that was surrounding them. After a while, Alexis grew tired of the kiss and decided to run up and hug them. Emma and Regina broke off their kiss with a laugh and Emma picked up her daughter and placed her on her hip, squishing the girl between her and her wife. Her heart clenched at the thought that Regina was now her wife. 

Regina motioned to Henry to join their family hug and the man didn’t hesitate to wrap his long arms around both of his mothers. During his childhood, he had been wrapped up in a lot of ‘mommy sandwiches’ and now it was his turn to envelop them in an ‘Henry sandwich’. 

Regina and Emma’s eye met over Alexis’ head and they were both shining with happy tears. Their hearts were overflowing with love and joy. They didn’t know what the future was going to bring, but this was the perfect start to their happy beginning. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is the end! I think this is going to be the last chapter, since I just don't have any inspiration for this story anymore. This originally started as a one shot and then it got a little out of hand but I loved writing it! I hope you enjoyed it and see you soon for a new fic! Let me know what you thought of this in the comments ;)
> 
> Love,  
> xx

**Author's Note:**

> Does this make any sense at all? Please let me know in the comments. I could be persuaded to write a sequel to this, but nothing has been written yet. Let me know if you want a follow-up. Also, if you want to talk about swanqueen or have a chat with me, you can find me on Tumblr @swanqsposts. Love you all and till next time!


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